A-Z Challenge - 'T'

My a-z challenge topic for today is 'toxin.' My journey to wellness became a necessity thanks to - I believe - toxins. As I have stated several times, I do not believe that multiple sclerosis is responsible for my symptoms. Rather, I truly believe that I am suffering from the toxic effects of aspartame and sucralose among other things. Prior to the onset of my symptoms I was living a fairly clean life except for a considerable consumption of processed foods. I didn't use artificial sweeteners very much at all. I just didn't like the aftertaste of Splenda (sucralose), Equal (aspartame), or NutraSweet (aspartame) so I avoided using them. Splenda was a bit more palatable so when I did use a sweetener on a rare occasion, that was my choice. Then, the Coca-Cola Company released Coke Zero sweetened with aspartame (after the failure of their Splenda-sweetened Diet Coke) and I was undone. The taste was exactly like their regular Coke - without the nasty aspartame aftertaste. Honestly, I ended up drinking way too much of it. Within a few months, my symptoms started.

Toxins are everywhere. They are not just present in food as artificial sweeteners. Artificial colors and flavors, mono-sodium glutamate, bisphenol A (BPA - found in plastics), and mercury are just a few examples of toxins that we are regularly exposed to. Eating foods as close to their natural state as possible - organic is preferred (but don't assume that 'organic' equates to 'good for you' - as processing can turn nutritious foods into toxic sludge.

A-Z Challenge - 'J'

So far, this has been the most difficult topic for me to come up with. It needed to begin with the letter J and, for my purposes, fit in with my blog topic - My Journey to Wellness. It was then that it hit me...'journey' would be my topic. This truly has been a journey for me over the last couple of years. After my initial hospitalization in September of 2006, I really wasn't expecting to ever approach any normalcy in my life. Prior to the onset of symptoms, I had been in the best shape of my then-38 year life.
A little history here...I was 6'2" and 220 pounds in 8th grade and even though I participated in sports and other activities I would never weigh less than that 220 mark until 2001 when I began following the Atkins Diet. With the restricted sugars and a regular exercise program, I finally got myself down to 205 pounds and stayed there for several years. I truly believe that things began to turn sour when Coca-Cola released Coke Zero. Up until that point, I really didn't bother using artificial sweeteners but I really began drinking a lot of Coke Zero - sweetened, of course, with aspartame. It wasn't too long after that that the symptoms started. After six months of gradually worsening symptoms, I was hospitalized. This was when the corticosteroids started along with ridiculous weight gain. I ballooned up to 300 pounds due to the steroids and the inability to maintain any form of extended activity - 15 minutes of any type of movement would completely drain me.
The good news is that September of 2006 - when I was hospitalized - was as bad as it got. From that point on, things didn't necessarily get better, but they didn't get any worse. Eventually, I was stepped down off of the steroids. With the diagnosis of multiple sclerosis came the prescription of Rebif. While this was supposedly helping me but the side effects were completely unbearable. Injection site reaction (redness and pain) and flu-like symptoms hit me really hard. I took myself off of it largely due to this but also when I learned that it was costing me (and insurance) $24,000 per year. This was probably the true starting point of my journey to wellness. It was when I really started to explore alternate therapies.
My journey to wellness really began to make some progress when I started taking VIDACELL - a little over two years after I was hospitalized. A month later, we adopted Ginger from the Humane Society because I felt that I was able to walk and care for a dog.
The next major advancement on my journey to wellness came when I began to really take tighter controls over the food that I was eating. I began following The Maker's Diet in January of 2010. Since this time, I gradually began to make better food choices - free range chicken and eggs instead of caged, corn-fed chicken, grass fed beef instead of feedlot beef, raw milk instead of pasteurized (or worse, ultra-pasteurized) milk, sprouted grains instead of whole grains, etc. It has been a slow but steady process - and not always perfect - but the results are undeniable.
I haven't quite gotten back down to 205 and I still have some nagging symptoms but I am not the same person that I was 4 years ago. My interest in better food sources has led me to composting and gardening in addition to better meal planning and preparation (the microwave has not been used in well over a year and Teflon has been eradicated from our house).
My journey to wellness is far from over, but I can't complain about my progress thus far!

A-Z Challenge - 'H'

I can't think of a better H-word for today's topic than honey - specifically raw honey. Raw honey is an amazing, natural food. It has to be truly raw, however. Honey that has been heated at more than 117 degrees Fahrenheit is no longer considered to be raw - above that temperature, the beneficial enzymes are destroyed.
On my journey to wellness, I have sworn off all artificial sweeteners and avoid using regular sugar. Instead, I opt for raw honey or pure maple syrup when needing a touch of sweetness. I have a firm conviction that multiple sclerosis in not to blame for my condition but rather it comes from excessive use of aspartame (NutraSweet, Equal) and sucralose (Splenda). While I never used the little blue, pink, and yellow packets of sweetener, I did go through a phase of drinking way too much diet soda. It wasn't long into this phase that my symptoms began. Though my suspicions had not been confirmed, I immediately swore off diet soda. My symptoms worsened even after discontinuing all aspartame and sucralose usage but, given the way that toxins are stored in the body, my hypothesis still makes sense. Today, in fact, I read an article published by Dr. Mercola regarding the topic of the negative effects of aspartame. Please, take some time and educate yourself about the dangers by visiting his site at: Victoria Inness-Brown's Aspartame Experiment.